


You Must Be New Here, Dammit

by Emirael



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Low Fantasy, Romance, weird au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:29:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emirael/pseuds/Emirael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot for the prompt Low Fantasy/Dystopia Hurt/Comfort Elsanna. Definitely a weird AU.</p><p>Elsa is newly arrived to the idyllic hamlet of Reindeer Cascades and it's Anna's job to welcome her to her new home. But there's a handbook about these things and it's a little more complicated than that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Must Be New Here, Dammit

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder: Weird AU.

_Welcome to the Director of Hamlet Integration and Community (DHIC) Handbook! This document will tell you everything you need to know as you serve as **[** **Reindeer**   **Cascades - Hamlet #112713]** 's social backbone. You have been chosen for this job due to your familial proximity to a prominent authority figure of your Hamlet. Your association with authority will add an air of legitimacy to your interactions with the fellow denizens of your Hamlet_ _. That you are not an actual authority figure will help your interactions remain natural._

_While you have many duties pertaining to the existing community members of your Hamlet, your first priority should always be to foster the assimilation and smooth transition of any and all new residents in your Hamlet. Some transfers are not by the resident’s request, and some may feel ambivalent about their new Hamlet assignment. Regardless of the resident’s feelings about their new home, which is your home, remind them that they are necessary and wanted. This tends to result in a 43% quicker assimilation. Project an understanding air, but always be positive. In fact, this is a good rule for all your interactions with your fellow denizens. Remember: your top priority is overall community harmony._

_-_

Anna glanced over her notes one more time as she waited for the carriage to come in. It was nuclear-powered, of course, but the presence of horses and their sedate pace was ideal for promoting a peaceful atmosphere. Unfortunately, it meant they were sometimes late. Apparently occasional tardiness lent itself to the ideal atmosphere too.

She sighed as her eyes paused over the section that indicated that Ms. Winters’ transfer was  _not_  at her own request.

Those types of transfers never went especially well. No matter how hard Anna tried.

When the carriage arrived, a stately blonde stepped out of it. Her bangs were swept back in a hairstyle that  _screamed_  magic, and the way she glanced around with a thorough dearth of enthusiasm confirmed her identity.

"Hello," Anna said, stepping forward. "You must be Elsa Winters. My name is Anna, and I’m here to help you get settled."

The newcomer’s ice-blue eyes roved around, refusing to meet Anna’s. She looked distinctly morose. “I suppose you’re the community engagement person here,” she mumbled after several awkwardly silent moments.

"Yep, I’m the DHIC for Reindeer Cascades." She picked up one of Elsa’s bags and started walking her to her new home. (Even though the rest of her belongings would be transferred to her dwelling by an automated carriage, it was advisable to carry at least one bag to give the welcome a personal touch according to the handbook) "So I understand you’re an ice mage. That’s really wonderful. Everyone is gonna be so happy you’re here. We really needed one."

"Unfortunately." Elsa’s eyes were beautiful, but never seemed to stay still. Anna wondered if she were making comparisons between her old hamlet and her new one as she glanced around.

Anna bit her lip and debated for a moment. There were answers she was  _supposed_  to give and there were answers she  _wanted_  to give. Most forced transfers tended to do well  _enough_  after a few days. They made friends and she did her job and made sure they got connected to the community.

But something about Elsa Winters was tripping her intuition up. She took a deep breath.

"Ms. Winters, I know it’s not where you want to be, and I know you don’t have a choice about it, but…" Anna smiled lopsidedly. "I’m here for you if you want to give this place a shot."

Then Elsa turned and met her eyes for the first time. She was… stunning. And stunningly sad. “The same way you don’t have a choice about your job? Welcoming grumpy strangers?” She raised an eyebrow.

Anna shrugged. “No, but just because I don’t have a choice doesn’t mean I can’t make the best of it either.” She shifted her grip on Elsa’s bag. “I wasn’t asking you as the DHIC. I was asking you as Anna.”

Elsa’s eyes narrowed in appraisal. Then she flicked out a hand, and a small table of ice popped up under the bag. Anna dropped it in surprise, but the mage beside her kept walking. The bag, meanwhile, kept sliding alongside the blonde woman on a thin sheet of ice.

She glanced back at Anna. “Then here’s my answer. As Elsa.” Anna caught the glimpse of a tiny smile. “Maybe. Just… I know it’s your job, but I could use a little space. A bit of time to adjust.”

Anna nodded. “I’ll try.” It would stretch some of her requirements to give Elsa extra space. She’d get in trouble if she didn’t have Elsa adjusted, at least on paper, within a few weeks. That meant tallying her attendance at various social functions and helping her acquire a certain amount of friends, but… Elsa had specifically requested some time and space, so Anna could justify it. Sort of.

-

_As the DHIC, you should foster a personable relationship with everybody in your Hamlet. This is especially true of newcomers, but you should take note: while befriending a transferred resident, your top priority should not be to become a friend for them yourself, but to facilitate their making their own friends with other members of the Hamlet. This is statistically best done by encouraging attendance to Hamlet social events. You may attend with new transfers, but never forget that your primary role in doing so is to connect your new resident to established residents with whom they can begin new friendships. This is, statistically speaking, the best way to integrate your transfers._

-

"There’s a small performance going on down at the town square," Anna said, standing on her tiptoes to hang the other side of Elsa’s curtains.

The blonde woman glanced at her briefly, then out the window. Elsa had been assigned a cottage on a street just off the main road in town. The view was of several idyllic storefronts and was, in Anna’s opinion, honestly not a bad one.

"I’m not too far from the square," Elsa murmured. "Won’t we be able to hear it from here?"

Anna blinked. “Well… yes.” But if she didn’t get Elsa to enough socials, she’d be in serious trouble for being under quota. The other woman was barely social as it was. Anna looked back from the window to Elsa. “Wait, we?”

This  time it was Elsa’s turn to seem off-guard. She glanced up, then down as she clutched her hands in front of her chest. Anna had only known her for a fortnight, but it seemed to be one of Elsa’s nervous habits. “Well,” she started. “I certainly don’t want to keep you if you have places to be. I guess I just thought it might be nice to, um, stay in for the night. Just you and me?”

Despite herself, Anna felt her expression softening. “Of course I’d love to stay,” she said. “Is there any… reason you don’t want to go?”

Elsa shrugged and walked away to sit in a hoverchair. “I don’t like being surrounded by people, and tonight I really miss my old hamlet.”

Anna ambled over and sat in a chair across from Elsa. She  _really_  should be convincing the other woman to go to the social. But… she was already breaking a few rules with Elsa. She hadn’t made the woman go to anything, really. She’d spent more time with her than was regulated, and she’d helped her procure and hang a set of curtains that weren’t to standard. She smiled. “Do you want to talk about it?”

The smile that met hers was worth breaking a few more rules.

-

_As the DHIC, you are naturally an integrated member of your own Hamlet. It can be tempting, as you get to know new members, to desire close friendships with them. This is fine over time, however you should beware of startling or shifting the status quo too abruptly. The primary goal of a successful transfer integration is merging the new member of your Hamlet into the existing society without any overt changes to the Hamlet’s social structure, which has been carefully engineered for idyllic life. Transfers may feel especially grateful to you as the DHIC, but make certain to keep a professional distance until they are fully integrated members of society. Your job is not to be their best friend or lover. Your job is to help them find their best friend or lover._

-

Their faces were too close.

Anna’s breath hitched. Just around the corner, the new years festival was in full swing. It was too loud to hear Elsa’s breathing, but she could feel her breasts rise and fall. Their bodies were too close.

She’d brought Elsa to the festival, even managed to introduce her to some people. They’d danced together and Elsa even seemed pretty happy for a while. But then, between dances, she’d turned suddenly melancholy.

Elsa leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Anna’s. She was only two inches taller, but the difference felt profound this close.

Anna had noticed Elsa had her “I miss my old Hamlet” look and had pulled her off to the side, down a path between some buildings to give them space and privacy, just a bit. She’d barely been able to hear Elsa, so the other woman had leaned in to whisper/shout in her ear.

"This isn’t home, but when I’m with you it feels like it could be."

And then she’d pulled back, but only barely. Their arms had ended up wrapped around one another, and their faces were too close.

This was against the rules for at least another three months. Elsa was  _very_ behind schedule for the ideal integration.

But Anna had already been breaking so many rules for her, bending the counts and lying on her evaluations.

What was one more?

She leaned in and pressed their lips together.


End file.
